The present invention is directed to the art of medical equipment and, more particularly, to a system of voice controlled surgical equipment of the type used in an operating room for performing surgical procedures. The present invention will be described with particular reference to a voice controlled integrated surgical suite including at least a surgical table and a surgical lighthead device. In another embodiment, the integrated voice controlled suite includes surgical table and lighthead devices and, in addition, a voice controlled surgical task light and a voice commanded video camera incorporated into the lighthead. It should be understood, however, that the invention has broader application and uses in the medical arts as well as in industrial processes, or anywhere there is a need for speech recognition control by a human operator over a plurality of integrated voice-controllable devices.
Nearly all surgical procedures are performed in an operating room on a surgical table. The tables have been developed over the years into highly specialized apparatus including a patient support surface forming various head and foot sections which are movable relative to a central support surface. In addition, the patient support surface itself is typically positionable relative to a base or pedestal portion of the surgical table. The capacity to execute all of the above motions and articulations and others are typically incorporated into standard surgical tables to enable the tables to be used in a wide range of surgical procedures to best support the patient in one or more desired positions.
Typically, modern surgical tables include a manually operable control device or pendant connected to the table by means of an elongate flexible electrical cable. The control device often includes a plurality of switches and actuators that enable the surgeon or other operating room personnel to control mechanisms within the table to achieve the selected motions or operations. Oftentimes, the control pendant includes one or more visual indicia for reporting the status of certain features of the surgical table to a human operator. As an example, one important visual indicia is used to report the status of the surgical table floor locks, particularly when they are in an unlocked state. The floor locks must be activated before any further table motion is permitted and before surgery can be performed.
In the past, the task of manually actuating the control pendant has been placed on the shoulders of the anesthesiologist. One reason for this is that the elevation of the patient""s feet relative to his head must be controlled and adjusted during the administration of anesthesia. Another reason for the anesthesiologist to be handed the pendant control task is to maintain the integrity of the sterile field. More particularly, the control device typically hangs on a side rail of the surgical table but can be extended beyond the rail confines by paying out additional cable lengths. The area beyond the side rail is not in the sterile field. Accordingly, in order for the surgeon to use the control device, he must hold it and/or keep it within the sterile field at all times. Of course, this is inconvenient and could compromise the results of the surgical procedure.
In addition to the above, although sterile bags could be placed over the control device, the bags make manipulation of the switches and other actuators on the control device difficult and distracting to the surgeon. Primarily, bags have been used on control devices to protect the devices themselves from various fluids that might be inadvertently splashed on the control device during a procedure. Typically, therefore, the bags are used more for protecting the control pendant from contamination rather than protecting the sterile field from contamination by the control pendant.
One major problem that arises during surgical procedures is squarely centered on the cumbersome nature and inconvenience of the manual control pendant used with most surgical tables. More particularly, whenever a surgeon desires a patient to be moved from a first position to a second position, the surgeon must verbally call out such order to the control pendant attendant. When the surgeon and attendant are well rehearsed, the table movement can be executed with relative ease. However, commands from the surgeon to the attendant are not always perfect. Intellectual misunderstandings occur and oftentimes language barriers exist. Further, surgeons often wear masks making their speech difficult to understand.
Another problem with table motion based on a surgeon""s verbal commands arises due to the delay time between the command utterance, its interpretation, and then eventual implementation. Sometimes it is necessary to move the table into a particular desired orientation in a hurried manner. When that is the case, large delay times between verbal commands and their actual implementation can be dangerous to the patient.
In addition to surgical tables, lightheads are also necessary during surgical procedures. To that end, typical lightheads include a sterile manual handle portion to enable surgeons to reach overhead, grasp the handle, and then manually move the lighthead into a desired position and orientation. Light intensity and ON/OFF operations, however, are typically controlled from a remote wall unit. Again, since the wall unit is typically not located within the sterile field, the surgeon must rely on the assistance of other operating room personnel to change the lighthead operation parameters in order to preserve the integrity of the sterile field.
Electronic video cameras have been used to film surgical procedures and provide live video images of the procedures for purposes of training and the like. These video cameras have often been controlled by additional operating room personnel, by an operator at a remote location, or by the surgeon using a footswitch device or the like. Typical footswitch controls include zoom in/out and rotate CW/CCW.
It has been found that the footswitches add unnecessary clutter to the critical floor space adjacent the surgical table. This can lead to very undesirable results should the surgeon trip on the footswitch or otherwise experience a misstep.
In all of the above, additional personnel are needed to effect the manual operation of the operating room support devices. These personnel add costs to the procedure and place a burden on operating room resources such as floor space and room ventilation and cooling apparatus.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system for enabling a human operator such as surgeon, to control a suite of operating room equipment without compromising the sterile field. Preferably, the suite of equipment is voice controlled based on speech recognition.
It is also desirable to reduce the chance of the occurrence of error in surgical table positioning. It is preferable that the surgical table be controlled directly by the surgeon but in a manner without compromising the sterile field such as by hands free control.
Still further, it is also desirable for the surgeon to directly control surgical lightheads, surgical cameras, and other devices in the operating room to reduce the number of auxiliary personnel and other clutter that is otherwise needed to adjust and control these devices.
In accordance with the present invention, a system for controlling a plurality of surgical apparatus by a human operator is provided. The system includes a speech recognition device adapted to recognize a plurality of predetermined voice commands from the human operator. Further, the voice controlled system is responsive to a set of predetermined voice commands to generate a corresponding set of command output signals. A surgical table is operatively connected with the speech recognition system and is responsive to a first set of the command output signals to initiate selected surgical table movements. A surgical lighthead is also operatively connected with the speech recognition system and is responsive to a second set of the command output signals to initiate selected surgical lighthead operations.
In accordance with a more detailed aspect of the invention, the voice controlled system is responsive to the set of predetermined voice commands from the human operator to generate various command output signals to generate selected motion in the surgical table including height, Trendelenberg, back, flex, leg, tilt, level, and stop motions. In addition, the system causes voice controlled action in the surgical lighthead including surgical lighthead ON/OFF actions and lighthead intensity responses.
In accordance with a more limited aspect of the invention, the system for controlling a plurality of surgical apparatus includes a surgical camera operatively connected with the speech recognition system. The surgical camera is responsive to a third set of command output signals to initiated selected surgical camera operations.
In accordance with a still further limited aspect of the invention, the subject system includes a surgical task light operatively connected with the speech recognition system. The surgical task light is responsive to a fourth set of the command output signals to initiate selected surgical task light operations.
Further in accordance with the invention, there is provided a method for voice controlling a plurality of surgical apparatus by a human operator. A speech recognition device responsive to a set of predetermined voice commands from the human operator is provided. The voice recognition device generates a set of command output signals. A surgical table is provided and is operatively associated with the speech recognition device and is responsive to a first set of the command output signals to initiate selected surgical table movements. Further, a surgical lighthead is provided and is operatively associated with the speech recognition system. The surgical lighthead is responsive to a second set of the command output signals to initiate selected surgical lighthead operations. The method includes the step of receiving a first voice command from the human operator into the speech recognition system. Thereafter, based on the first voice command, the method includes generating, in the speech recognition system, a one of the first set of the command output signals for initiating the selected surgical table movement and the second set of the command signals for initiating the selected lighthead operations.
In accordance with a more limited aspect of the subject method in accordance with the invention, the method includes the step of providing a surgical camera responsive to a third set of the command output signals to initiate selected camera operations.
In accordance with a further limited aspect of the invention, the method includes the step of providing a surgical task light operatively associated with the speech recognition system and responsive to a fourth set of the command output signals to initiate selected surgical task light operations.
It is a primary advantage of the present invention that a surgical suite including a plurality of apparatus, namely at least a surgical table and a surgical lighthead is voice controlled by a human operator, preferably the surgeon. The subject voice controlled surgical suite enables a more efficient and easier to use set of medical appliances.
The subject system provides the advantage of reducing the number of personnel required to be present during surgical procedures.
Further, the present invention increases the safety of surgical procedures by minimizing the risk of misunderstanding and/or miscommunication of command messages from the surgeon to the support staff. In the subject system, the surgical suite is commanded directly by a surgeon""s voice control using word recognition techniques.
Still other advantages and benefits of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed description.